Less-lethal weapons such as pepper-spray and other incapacitants are an essential part of the military and law enforcement arsenal. Using an incapacitant, however, is inconvenient and dangerous when an operator is carrying a two-handed firearm. In these situations, the operator is forced to choose between lethal and less-lethal weapons options, potentially endangering the operator's life or that of an individual confronting him or her. One solution for this problem is to mount an incapacitant dispenser on the firearm. To date, however, designs for doing so have been inadequate, and no such less-lethal weapon system has achieved significant adoption by any national law enforcement body.
Previous designs known in the art have either employed non-standard mechanisms that require additional training for use, have proven difficult to use, use a longitudinal mounting design, are not reloadable during use, or simply are not enabled. (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,661 (disclosing a longitudinally-mounted canister); U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,779 (disclosing a incapacitant canister mount in a broader weapon disclosure, but failing to enable canister exchange); U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,628 (disclosing a less-lethal weapon mount that does not utilize a standard incapacitant canister).
The invention disclosed herein overcomes these drawbacks by disclosing a less-lethal weapon system that incorporates an incapacitant canister into a foregrip mountable to a two-handed firearm. The foregrip allows operators to hold and aim the firearm more quickly and more comfortably. However, the typical foregrip usually serves few other practical purposes, often simply being a hollow cavity where additional batteries or other tactical items might be stored. The disclosed invention allows the foregrip to serve its original purpose of improving control, but also equips the firearm with a less-lethal weapon system. The disclosed invention features industry-standard and otherwise compatible components for easy integration into major firearms and personnel training systems, including a standard mounting rail and trigger mechanism. This allows deployment of the invention with minimal personnel retraining, and permits operators to rely on muscle memory gained through years of fieldwork. The invention also features the use of a standard-sized incapacitant canister that can be mounted in a canister magazine for quick and efficient loading and replacement. The foregrip is configured to provide a comfortable tactical feel and an optimal canister mounting angle for effective deployment of the less-lethal medium. Further, the invention is designed to work with various incapacitant media, including sprays, gels and foams.
Before continuing with the background, a variety of definitions should be made, these definitions gaining further appreciation and scope in the detailed description and embodiments of the disclosed device. All terms defined herein are to be construed broadly, in accordance with their ordinary and customary meaning to a person having ordinary skill in the art.
“Foregrip” means a handgrip mounted in a position forward of the main handgrip and trigger mechanism of a firearm that is used by the non-dominant hand to steady the firearm during operation.
“Incapacitant” means a spray, gel or foam medium containing capsaicin, pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA), 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS Gas), or other chemical capable of causing temporary physiological or mental effects, which render an individual incapable of concerted action.
“Standard canister” means an incapacitant container typically having a diameter of 1.5 inches and a height of 4 inches. However, in some embodiments the invention may be configured to work with other sized canisters.
This has served as a background for the disclosure, including underlying technical innovation needed to fully appreciate the disclosed device, which will now be summarized.